Thursday, June 30, 2016

Top Lebanese TV anchor arrested, deported from Egypt

A prominent Lebanese journalist who hosted a talk show on Egypt’s
private ONTV critical of the government of President Abdul Fattah Al
Sissi arrived in Beirut on Tuesday after authorities in Cairo briefly
detained and then deported her, her lawyer said.

Lilian Daoud
could not immediately be reached for comment. Her lawyer, Zyad Al
Elaimy, wrote on his Twitter account that her first comment after
landing in Beirut was that she will challenge the decision to deport
her.

There was no formal explanation for Daoud’s deportation from Egypt.

An
Egyptian security official, speaking on Monday on condition of
anonymity because he was not authorised to speak to reporters, said
Daoud’s residency permit expired after her contract with the ONTV
station was terminated.

Al Elaimy said eight men in plainclothes
had escorted Daoud from her home in an upscale suburb in Cairo, where
she has lived for years, late on Monday, after she announced on her
social media account that the network had ended her contract.

Her
10-year-old daughter was there when the men took Daoud away, allowing
her no time to pick up luggage. She only called her family from the
plane before it headed to Beirut, Al Elaimy said.

The decision to abruptly deport Douad shocked her colleagues and other public figures.

Mohammad
Al Baradei, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate and one of the Egyptian
uprising’s spiritual fathers who now lives in self-imposed exile,
applauded Daoud for her professional reporting.

“One day we may have
enough self-confidence to understand the value of having different
opinions,” he said in a subtle jab at the local authorities.

Daoud formerly worked for the British Broadcasting Corporation, and lived in London before moving to Egypt.

Her
talk show aired critical views of Egyptian President Al Sissi’s
government. Since the military overthrow of President Mohammad Morsi in
2013, the government has shown little tolerance for criticism, banning
protests and taking programs off the air.

Satirical TV host
Bassem Youssef — once described as the Jon Stewart of Egypt and whose
program was taken off the air for his criticism of the government —
said her arrest is “just the beginning.”

“Egypt ... can’t tolerate the rest of the world,” Youssef, who has also left Egypt, wrote on his Facebook.